Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Out of the ten competitors, three have already lost their hands!” Li Beini pointed at the list of names while peeling prawn shells. “Could the culprit be among the remaining seven people?”
“That’s possible…” Zhao Yu pondered for a few seconds and said, “but the top three could probably be eliminated too! They performed well, so why would they want to chop off the hands of the losers?”
“That’s true…” Li Beini was also very excited. She pointed at the list and said, “Senior, look, the first victim, Gao Tian came in sixth in the Grand Piano Competition. Yuan Lili was fifth, and Luo Meina was fourth. The culprit is chopping off hands in order! I think the culprit must be beyond sixth place! So, seventh to tenth place! These four people are the most suspicious!”
“Right!” Zhao Yu nodded, “Since it started from sixth place, the person who placed seventh naturally is the most suspicious. I think the culprit is likely to be him!”
“No, no, no.” Li Beini unexpectedly shook her head. “I’ve checked the background of these people! In seventh place is a man named Sheng Lei. He died in a car accident ten years ago! It’s couldn’t possibly be him!”
“Ah? If it’s like this…” Zhao Yu was taken by surprise, “then we are left with only three suspects?”
“Two!” Li Beini said with certainty, “Ninth place has a bone tumor and has not been out of bed for a few years! Only eighth place and tenth place are possible, but eighth place lives in another part of the country all year round and is not in this city. Only tenth place fulfills the requirements!”
“Are you serious?” Zhao Yu felt anxious all of a sudden, afraid that this would be like previous times where the investigation had led to a dead end.
“Don’t despair!” Li Beini consoled. “The one living in the other part of the country will not be spared! I’m already checking his exact address! This afternoon, let’s check on this tenth place fella! Who knows…it could be her?”
Zhao Yu looked carefully at tenth place. It was a woman’s name. He felt perturbed and agitated. Could it be? The culprit of the Lost Hand Case was really a woman!?
“Senior, besides finding the culprit, there’s another thing that we can’t ignore!” Li Beini reminded him, “Tomorrow is the 26th. If the culprit has not quit, we have to do take some measures in preparation.”
“Oh, right! Understood!” Zhao Yu pointed at the list, “If the culprit will strike, the next victim will definitely be third place?”
“Not necessarily!” Li Beini shook her head again. “Third place, Shao Lulu, has already moved to Australia with her family! The culprit won’t travel overseas to chop her hands off. Also, the champion for that Grand Piano Competition, Lu Tao, is currently the Director of Academic Affairs at the capital’s College of Music, which is a little far. From what I see, second place is most likely going to be the culprit’s next target!”
“Li Xinhua?” Zhao Yu glanced at the name list. “What an old-fashioned name. Is it a man or a woman?”
“A woman!” Li Beini answered, “This person is the principal of I Can Fly Art College, currently living in Qinshan City. If I was the culprit, I’d definitely choose her!”
“In this case, our mission is very important!” Zhao Yu sighed, “We have to catch the culprit, and also protect the next victim! We’ve gotta hurry!”
“Yes!” Li Beini had finished eating. She took a quick sip of her fruit juice and said, “But we’ve gotta go back to the office first! We haven’t gotten the exact addresses of these people, and I wanna check on the organizers of the competition, as well as the judges and staff to see if we can get any information from them.”
“How meticulous! I like it!” Zhao Yu hurriedly took a few bites and paid the bill before heading back to Team A’s office with Li Beini.
Enemies always cross each other’s path indeed! The moment the two entered, they saw Liu Changhu with this hands clasped, standing in front of the whiteboard Zhao Yu used for his case analysis. He was looking at something with great interest. It was now lunch time, and there were no other agents in the office.
“Hey? How dedicated?” Liu Changhu did not panic after seeing Zhao Yu and Li Beini come in. He asked mockingly, “Why, you don’t rest even during lunch?”
“Captain Liu!” Li Beini greeted politely.
Zhao Yu crossed his arms and walked in front of Liu Changhu. He barked, “Shoot! If not, scram!”
“You!?” Liu Changhu gave a stare, pointed at the whiteboard and sneered, “Alright, Zhao Yu! Seems like you really wanna win? The case’s gonna be solved soon, huh? I’ve gotta prepare 1,800 yuan for you way in advance, huh?”
He beamed with joy, “You should reflect upon your own ability. Team B has so many people investigating day and night, and has not gotten any clues! You stupid little ruffian, you wanna solve the case before others? Huh! Wishful thinking! Be sensible and apologize to me quickly so that when you admit defeat, I’ll save your face and not give you a lecture. If not, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to hold your head up high in front of the whole team!”
“Beini,” without waiting for Zhao Yu’s rebuttal, he turned and said to Li Beini, “listen to my advice. Don’t associate yourself with this kind of person! You are an outstanding comrade, if you stay with this kind of ruffian, you’ll be led astray!”
Li Beini looked down and neither dared to agree nor disagree.
“Beini!” Zhao Yu tapped Li Beini lightly on the shoulder. “Help me get a cup of coffee, would you? A big cup!”
“Zhao Yu! Quit it!” Liu Changhu immediately understood the reason behind Zhao Yu’s words. “Don’t tell me you wanna throw the cup of coffee at me?” He pointed at Zhao Yu’s nose and ordered, “Let me tell you, I showed you mercy the previous time. If you dare me again, I’ll get you dismissed!”
What Liu Changhu said was true. According to the new laws, unauthorized attack or assault on police officers carried a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment. Even though both parties were police officers, dismissal would be inevitable.
The previous time, Zhao Yu had attacked rashly because he was emotional after traveling through time. Moreover, he did not want to be a police officer in the first place. However, things were different now, and naturally he would not be rash again! But even if he could not use force, as a shameless little ruffian, Zhao Yu had his own way of pranking people. As Liu Changhu brushed past him and walked toward to main gate, Zhao Yu suddenly turned around and shouted behind him!
“Haw!” This yell was like thunder, scaring Liu Changhu, leaving him staggering. Zhao Yu raged and knocked over a huge pile of documents.
Liu Changhu was still a little bit afraid of Zhao Yu. He had a bad scare, and his face was white.
“You…you…” Shaking, he pointed at Zhao Yu, but was unable to speak.
“Hahahaha…” Zhao Yu burst into laughter to the point of keeling over. He said to himself, “It’s not a crime to give you a scare right? So? What can you do to me? So what?”
Witnessing Zhao Yu’s jerkish behavior, Li Beini could not help but laugh. But after seeing Liu Changhu’s murderous eyes, she could only try to restrain herself in discomfort.